Photography-Verena Stefanie
Words-Art Jefferson
The area of South London has played a critical role in the development of music in the UK. From the times of the early 80’s South London reggae sound systems to groups such as the So Solid Crew, which dominated the UK Garage scene in the early 2000’s, this section, south of the River Thames, is responsible for producing some of the biggest musical talents in England. Grime emcee M.I.K is now set to run with that flag. Having done sets on numerous radio stations throughout London including Axe FM, Pyro Radio and more, M.I.K created even bigger of a buzz after doing sets on The Logan Sama Show on Kiss 100 and one of the biggest shows in the UK, The Tim Westwood Show on BBC 1xtra. With a string of mixtape releases including his 2009 cd titled “Workaholic” and the 2010 release “Grime To Five”, which were both critically recieved, the South East London emcee is ready to take the music scene by storm.
AJ– First, how long have you been emceeing and talk about your roots in the grime scene.
M.I.K-I’ve been doing this for a long time but only started taking it seriously for the past three years.
AJ-One thing that I have noticed is that you definitely have your own distinctive style of rhyming. Talk about how you’ve managed to achieve that especially in the grime scene where there are LOADS of emcees.
M.I.K-I just try not to listen to any other MCs, that way there’s no way I can start sounding like them really.
AJ-From the old sound system days to Jungle to Garage to Grime to Dubstep, South London has a pretty big history in the UK music scene. Talk a little about the scene of South London and how it plays a part with you and your music.
M.I.K-Yeah So Solid, Garage Essentials and N Double A have all played a big part in my music because they all made me believe that the urban music scene was a strong force in South London and if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have started writing lyrics and going to sets etc…
AJ-Talk about the mixtapes that you have released. The “Grime To Five” album was really well received but you have a number of releases.
M.I.K-I’ve released a lot of promos and EPs over the years, so many times, I can’t even put a number on how many. But yeah, Grime To Five was noticed as one of the releases of 2010 which was a really big moment for me.
AJ-You’ve had your share of clashes with a number of emcees. What’s the report for 2011? Are things settling or is there still clashes to handle?
M.I.K-War is war. It happens all the time in grime so it’s nothing big to me seeing as I’ve had so many clashes etc… with other MCs. But no, there aint any more war dubs that I need to be putting together for now anyway.
AJ-You have also been on countless radio shows including big heavyweights such as Tim Westwood and Logan Sama. Talk about the importance of putting in the radio work because I’ve noticed that many emcees will release a mixtape but then won’t really put in that radio time.
M.I.K-Radio is a very important factor while doing music because that’s a very good way to build a steady following and it’s also a good way to promote your music and gain a new fanbase.
AJ-What projects are you currently working on and who are some of the people that will feature on your new material?
M.I.K-Well I released an EP just before Christmas, so since then, I’ve just been in the studio making new music for the people. In terms of features, I haven’t really been reaching out to anyone because I felt I’ve done that enough on Grime To Five. But, I’ll be releasing my debut single ‘Do It’ on March 1st which you will be able to buy from iTunes, Amazon and all leading online stores.
AJ-Finally, what’s going on with Family Tree? Can the fans expect a Family Tree album soon?
M.I.K-Everyone keeps asking me this but you know what it is right now, everyone’s doing there own thing so it’s hard to just focus on one project cause were all doing solo stuff.
Be sure to visit M.I.K online:
Grime To Five is available at various digital outlets including